Spain, Ireland, and Norway announce recognition of the State of Palestine. Israel: “They chose to reward Hamas”

Brussels – The EU’s two most active countries in solidarity with the Palestinian people are breaking the hesitation announcing that they recognize the State of Palestine. Spain and Ireland will take the formal step on May 28. With them also Norway: the three join the 141 countries that already recognize the Palestinian State. “These countries have chosen to reward Hamas,” Israel lashed out, ordering back its ambassadors to Dublin and Oslo.

The Prime Ministers of Spain, Ireland, and Norway announced the recognition on the basis of the 1967 borders at the same time. Pedro Sanchez addressed the Congress of Deputies in Madrid, while the Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris and the Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre convened two press conferences. “The time has come to move from words to deeds. For peace, justice, and consistency,” Sanchez said in the House. According to the Norwegian Premier, “There can be no peace in the Middle East if there is no recognition.” Of the same opinion, Harris said, “Recognition of the State of Palestine represents unequivocal support for the two-state solution” and is “the only credible path to peace between Israel and Palestine.”

All three hope other countries would follow, beginning with Slovenia, which in recent months said it was ready to unilaterally recognize Palestine and should proceed by 13 June – when Parliament in Ljubljana will vote on the issue -. Belgium, Luxembourg, and Portugal have been wavering between unilateral action and the official position of the EU bloc that is ready to recognize Ramallah only once it is part of a two-state solution process. The move made today by the two EU countries and Norway tries to reverse the argument: the two-state solution can only start with the recognition of the Palestinian state.

Not least because Brussels’ position – shared, moreover, with the United States – is barred by the reluctance of the Israeli government of Benjamin Netanyahu, which has repeatedly reiterated its opposition to the two-state solution. “With this significant step, Spain, Ireland and Norway have once again demonstrated their unwavering commitment to the two-state solution and to providing the Palestinian people with long-awaited justice,” the Palestinian National Authority’s Foreign Ministry commented, further emphasising that the recognition of Palestine is “in line with international law and all relevant UN resolutions.”

Of the 27 EU countries, for now, Sweden has been the only one to have proceeded to recognize in 2014 Palestine.  Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Hungary, Malta, Romania, Poland, and Slovakia took this step before joining the Union. With the announcement of Spain and Ireland, there will now be 11 EU capitals recognizing Ramallah, still less than half. More importantly, Paris, Berlin, and Rome are still missing.

Emmanuel Macron’s France has already claimed that it is ready to “contribute” to the recognition of a Palestinian State “both in Europe and the UN Security Council.” Italy and Germany, while not hostile to the idea, link it to simultaneous recognition by Israel. Nothing could be further from the mark, judging from Tel Aviv’s reaction to the announcement by Spain, Ireland, and Norway: Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz has already ordered back its ambassadors in Dublin and Oslo, threatening to do the same with the Israeli diplomatic corps in Madrid.

“Israel will not remain silent in the face of those undermining its sovereignty and endangering its security,” Katz said in a statement, arguing that in doing so, the three countries “chose to reward Hamas and Iran” despite “the largest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust.” According to the Minister, unilateral recognition of Palestine “undermines the chances for peace and calls into question Israel’s right to peace.” Katz goes further, threatening “further grave consequences” against the three countries, who have done nothing but conform to the 139 UN member countries that have already recognized the State of Palestine: about 70 percent of those sitting in the UN General Assembly.